He Hates Thanksgiving
by Bullet in the Feels
Summary: It's late, but it's here. A short sequel to He Hates Halloween. Nico and Will share a little bit of alone time.


**A/N: I AM SO SORRY THIS IS LATE. (Christmas won't be any better either. :( Sadly.)Sequel to He Hates Halloween. Apologies for how short (and bad) this is, and OOCness. Please enjoy. :D And thanks for reading.  
**

Will Solace hummed happily as he officially closed the infirmary for the day. There weren't many people who needed help, and because it was finally Thanksgiving, there wasn't going to be anymore, unless someone got sick from the food. However, that would be later on, and right then, Will couldn't keep his mind set on one thing. How much food was there going to be? How many people? Was Nico going to be there?

Will stopped in his tracks. He didn't know the answers to any of those questions, even if he wanted to. With a sharp nod, Will walked to the Hades cabin to make sure a certain di Angelo boy was going to show up.

* * *

Nico di Angelo sat on the hollow log, knees pulled up to his chest. With one hand, he hugged his knees, with the other, he drew in the dirt, a stick in his hand. He hadn't been interested in the November holiday of Thanksgiving. He had never celebrated it in the past, and he wasn't about to start just because he was in America. He knew that if he remained in his cabin though, Jason, or someone else would drag him to their Thanksgiving celebration. So he was hiding. When he knew it was over, he would go back to his cabin and pretend like none of this ever happened. Nico had always hated Thanksgiving since he learned about it. He wasn't technically American, so why would it affect him? But out of everyone in the entire camp, Nico was the only one who had never done anything with this holiday. He barely knew anything about it, which made things worse for him because he was already out of touch, but it was holidays like Thanksgiving that reminded Nico even more that he didn't really belong with everyone else. A cool breeze swept through the area, making Nico shiver. He regretted only wearing his usual black pants with the dark gray t-shirt with the white skull on it. He didn't really know when he got into the skull stuff, but it kinda stuck. Nico dropped the stick, not looking back at what he drew. He merely sat there, his arms around his legs, one hand turning the skull ring on his finger of the other; he felt more alone than ever.

If today was meant to be a day for being thankful... Well, he didn't know of anything he had to be thankful for.

* * *

Annabeth Chase was helping decorate for the Thanksgiving dinner, mainly ordering other campers around. Everything was going smoothly, and as long as no one got too excited, Annabeth knew this year would be a success too. There was going to be a lot more campers at the dinner than at the Halloween party last year, which compelled Annabeth to work harder on this than she ever offered for last month. Her mind wandered to the events of last month, wincing as she worked as she recalled what took place. Because of that, Annabeth wouldn't let Jason or Percy, or anyone else go to the Hades cabin. She was smart enough to know that Nico wouldn't want to do this either; especially since he had never done it before in his life. She was taking the place of Nico's protector in this time, since people like Reyna weren't around. But she couldn't keep everyone away from Nico.

* * *

Will sighed as he knocked just one more time on the cabin door. However, still, there was no answer. Will didn't know where to look next. The thought also crossed his mind that Nico was avoiding him. For all Will knew, Nico could be holed up in his cabin, ignoring his constant pounding on the door. But one word caught Will in his tracks.

"Will," someone said from behind him. And Will knew exactly who it was.

"Nico," Will gasped, smiling at the other before him. "I was just looking for you. Where have you been?"

Nico shrugged, and brushed by Will, entering his cabin. The door remained open, but Will only stood outside, not feeling welcome quite yet. Deciding he'd be better off coming back; back when Nico wasn't in such a mood, Will turned to leave, but was once again stopped when he heard his name called. Will turned around and saw Nico standing there, shoulders hunched as if he wanted to close into himself.

"Can... Can I talk to you? ...Just for a bit...?"

The nervousness in Nico's voice was enough to slap Will to reality, and the severity of the topic they would be talking about. Will swallowed, nodded, then slipping inside the Hades cabin as well, closing the door behind him.

"Is there something bothering you?" Will asked after a few minutes of silence.

"I..." Nico inhaled deeply, looking up into Will's eyes. The direct eye contact startled Will a little, but he didn't say anything, encouraging Nico to continue. "Remember the day after the Halloween party... You asked me to... Console in you...?"

Will could feel the blood draining from his hands as they suddenly got cold. He remembered that conversation very clearly; as if it happened an hour ago. And he wasn't going back on those words now. Will felt special; like he was the only one Nico would ever talk to. That was one of the biggest things he was thankful for. Finally, Will nodded, silently telling Nico to continue, but without pushing him too hard.

"I was just in the woods... And I couldn't help but wonder about today..."

"Anything specific about today?" Will planted the question.

Nico nodded. "I realized as I was sitting there alone... That I didn't really understand the point of today."

"Before you continue," Will interrupted this time. "Were you wondering... What you have to be thankful for... when you think yourself to be all alone?"

Will knew he hit the nail on the head with that question, but he didn't try to tell Nico that he had so much to be thankful for. Will knew that sometimes, it was better to listen than to tell, and he could just feel now was a listening moment; not a lecture time.

"I... I wanted to tell you something that's been on my chest for a while now," Nico started again, looking like he was going to pass out or something from nerves. "That night... there was one specific thing the spirits kept going to, and I don't know why... But they did... They talked about..." Nico bit his lip, as if he was too nervous to continue on.

"Talked about what?" Will asked softly, reaching a hand out to Nico, who recoiled. Will didn't try to touch him again, but he did try to get Nico to keep talking.

But Nico shook his head, unable to continue his story.

"Take your time," Will told Nico with a gentle smile. "I understand that it takes a lot."

Nico sniffled again, wiping his eyes. "I kept hearing them talk about Bianca... And..."

Will hushed Nico. He knew enough from the previous time that Bianca was a sore subject for the son of Hades, so making Nico continue seemed to be a bad idea.

"Hey, Nico?" Will asked cautiously. "I know you want to fulfill what you promised me on Halloween... But you don't have to force yourself."

"I didn't think I had anything to be thankful for anymore," Nico said, looking to Will.

"But...?"

"I'm thankful you didn't give up on me."

Will smiled, and wrapped his arms around Nico, and tried his best not to feel hurt when Nico tensed. "I'm glad I didn't give up either," Will informed the shorter boy, ruffling Nico's black hair.

Nico smiled, relaxing completely in Will's arms.

"Ready to go to the party?"

Nico shook his head. "They don't celebrate what I grew up with... Why should I celebrate what they grew up with?"

"Point taken... But what do you want to do instead?"

Nico wriggled out of Will's arms, and went to his bed. "I just want to be alone."

Will flopped onto the bed, startling Nico slightly. "What are you doing?" Nico demanded of him, though his tone lacked its normal malice.

"I decided I want to be alone with you," Will answered easily, as if it were obvious.

"You'll get bored if you stick around," Nico warned.

"I don't mind; I don't think I could really be bored when you're around," Will replied, reclining, closing his eyes.

Nico chuckled, laying down next to Will. "Is that so?" Nico asked, closing his eyes as well.

Will didn't say anything. He was waiting to make sure Nico was getting sleep. When he heard Nico's even breathing of sleep, Will opened his eyes. "It is so," Will answered, though he knew Nico couldn't hear him. "It's more true than anything I've ever said."

* * *

Annabeth was smiling as she dragged Percy by the ear away from the outside of the Hades cabin. Little did Will and Nico know... They had heard the whole thing, and Annabeth couldn't wait to tell Piper and everyone else in their friend group.


End file.
